# CAREER: Modeling Trust Dynamics and System Adaptation for Human-AI Collaboration in Engineering Design

> **NSF 01002627DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT** · Stevens Institute of Technology (NJ) · $545,650

## Abstract

This Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER) project supports research and education focused on trust in human-artificial intelligence (AI) collaboration during early-stage engineering design. In open-ended, creative design contexts, trust governs how designers engage with and rely on AI-generated suggestions, yet this reliance is often implicit, context-dependent, and difficult to capture by traditional acceptance-based or post-hoc survey measures. This project advances fundamental knowledge by modeling trust as a continuous, time-varying latent state variable grounded in designers’ affective and cognitive processes, creating a foundation for trust-aware human-AI interaction in early-stage design. This CAREER award advances theory and methods for trust in human-AI collaboration through two integrated research activities: (1) developing empirical datasets and computational inference models that estimate trust dynamics as a continuous, normalized quantity from synchronized behavioral, self-report, and psychophysiological indicators during real-time design interaction; and (2) formalizing trust-aware AI adaptation strategies that specify how AI feedback behavior should adjust to support calibrated reliance and effective collaboration. Education and outreach activities will deploy AI-assisted design tools in undergraduate engineering design courses and pre-college design bootcamps, and will integrate multimodal sensing to enable adaptive, personalized feedback that supports cognitively demanding learning.

This research includes advancing the design and deployment of trust-aware AI systems that improve engineering decision quality and reliability, reduce design cycle time and downstream rework, and support effective human-AI collaboration across high-stakes industrial domains such as manufacturing, healthcare, and infrastructure. In parallel, the project will enhance STEM education and workforce development by integrating AI-assisted design and personalized

## Key facts

- **NSF award ID:** 2543591
- **Awardee organization:** Stevens Institute of Technology (NJ)
- **SAM.gov UEI:** JJ6CN5Y5A2R5
- **PI:** Ting Liao
- **Primary program:** 01002627DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT
- **All programs:** Artificial Intelligence (AI), CAREER-Faculty Erly Career Dev, Complex Systems, System Design and Simulation
- **Estimated total:** $545,650
- **Funds obligated:** $545,650
- **Transaction type:** Standard Grant
- **Period:** 09/01/2026 → 08/31/2031

## Primary source

NSF Award Search: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2543591

## Citation

> US National Science Foundation, Award 2543591, CAREER: Modeling Trust Dynamics and System Adaptation for Human-AI Collaboration in Engineering Design. Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nsf/2543591. Licensed CC0.

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